Coin dispenser



July 21, 1959' S. L. F. SEDERQUIST ET AL COIN DISPENSER Filed Jan. 11. 1954 1o sl anzey LFSQQZ in .w w Q a 3m .JOu F M a x United States Patent COIN DISPENSER Stanley L. E. Sederquistand'Oscar F. Johnson, 'Rockford, Illqsaid Johnson assignon to said Sederquist This invention relates to a new and improved coin dispenser, especially designed and adapted for use in automobiles to provide a handy place to keep nickelsv and pennies for use in parking meters.

The principal objectof our invention is to provide a coin dispenser of thekind mentioned adapted to receivea given number of pennies and/or nickels, the pennies being inserted and removed at one endand the nickels at the other end, the bore of the elongated c-ase having cupped disks sli'dabl'e therein andnormally urged toward the opposite ends of the case by a single coiled compression spring disposed therebetween and seated at its opposite ends in the recesses defined in-said disks, thus permitting, loading the dispenser nearly entirely with pennies or nickels, whichever the user prefers, and accondinglyi avoiding an important objection to many other coin dispensers which were designed to accommodate only a stated number of coins of each denomination. The. bore of, the case is ofuniform width for the major portion of its length, wide enough to accommodate nickels, but one end portion of the bore. is tapered to the smaller width of the slot into which the pennies are inserted. Thus, if the coindispenser contains a number of pennies, the outermost penny is always certain of being nicely centered with respect to the penny slot for easy removal, regardless of the case having also been designed with a view to accommodating nickels in the major portion of the length of the bore.

Another object is to simplify and improve the construction of the coin dispenser by providing the case open at the bottom and rectangular in form and recessed around the open bottom to accommodate a bottom closure plate which may be fastened in place by swedging the metal of the case over its edges at a number of spaced points after the two coin follower disks with the spring caged therebetween have been assembled in the case.

Another object is to provide an improved supporting base for the coin dispenser. Thus, the closure plate is perforated to accommodate integral grommet projections on a dished rubber base in which integral suction cups for application of the coin dispenser to a windshield or instrument panel are also provided, the dished rubber base greatly improving the appearance of the coin dispenser and also adding stability, while the suction cups provide quick and sure mounting and give also the advantage that the coin dispenser may be readily moved from one location to another that may be more convenient for the driver, besides making it possible for the owner to remove the coin dispenser from one car and install it in another, the dispenser being not regarded as a fixture going with the car when it is sold.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a parking meter coin dispenser made in accordance with our invention showing the device approximately full size,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the device on a larger scale, and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2 on the same scale as Fig. 1 showing a portion of the bottom plate broken away and revealing the bore of the case and the taper toward the penny receiving slot at the one end, the spring and coin follower disks being omitted in order to enable better illustration of the structural features of the case.

p The same reference numerals are applied to corre sponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 4 designates the case, and 5 the dished or cupped rectangular rubber base for mounting the case on a supporting surface indicated at 6 in Fig. 2, which may be provided by a windshield or an instrument panel in an automobile, or wherever the rubber suction cups 7 that are preferably molded integral with the base 5 are applicable to provide a quick and secure fastening. The cupped or dished base 5, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, is flattened out appreciably in the flattening ofthe suction cups 7 on the surface 6 and provides good stable support for the coin dispenser, in addition to greatly improving its, general appearance. The suction cups 7 provide secure enough support but still enable removing the dispenser from one location and applying it elsewhere where it may be a little handier for the driver in the removal and insertion of coins. Also, such a construction eliminates the necessity for drilling any holes to enable mounting the coin dispenser in the car; Hence, the owner is justified in removing the coin dispenser from, one, car and putting it in another, because the removal does not mar anything. In other words, the device cannot legitimately beconsidered in the nature of a fixtureto go with the car when sold.

' The. hollow case 4is suitably die cast in one piece providing a semi-cylindrieal top or front portion 8 and an open rectangular bottom or rear portion 9. A recess 10 is provided in the open bottom portion 9 in which a closure or bottom plate 11 has a close fit and is arranged to be secured in place by staking it at a plurality of spaced points, as indicated at 12 in Figs. 2 and 3, in which operation there is enough metal of the case swedged over the edges of the plate to hold it securely. This plate has holes 13 pierced therein, some of the metal being extruded upwardly around the holes, as indicated at 14, to provide supporting bosses for the heads 15 of grommets 16 that are molded integnal with the top wall of the rubber base 5, whereby to fasten the base 5 securely to the plate 11 by forcing the six headed ends of the grommets on the base through the holes 13, without the need for cementing the rubber base to the metal plate. The heads 15 of the grommets project above the plate 11 in two rows spaced on opposite sides of the coiled compression spring 17 and dished circular coin follower disks 18 and 19 that are seated on the opposite ends of the spring and are arranged to slide freely back and forth inside the case 4 always under pressure of the spring 17. Thus the heads 15 can never interfere with the freedom of operation of these coin follower disks and the freedom of movement of the coins slidable with them back and forth inside the case. The spring and the two follower disks are, of course, assembled in the case 4 before the bottom plate 11 is applied.

A nickel receiving slot 20, which, as shown in Fig. 3, is of a diameter equivalent to the full width of the bore 25 of case 4, is provided in one end of the case 4 and a penny receiving slot 21, which, as also appears in Fig. 3, is of a diameter somewhat smaller than the width of the bore 25, is provided in the other end, the end walls of the case being cut away on the outer sides of the slots substantially to a diametrical line with respect to the coin follower disks 18 and 19, as indicated at 22, a further half-round notch 23 being provided in each end wall as a finger hole to facilitate removal of the endmost coins from the slots. The top wall of the case is also cut away at each end, as indicated at 24, to provide sight openings enabling one to check the number of coins of each denomination left in the dispenser when there are only a few coins of each denomination left therein. The bore 25 of the case is as wide as the nickel slot 20 throughout the major portion of the length of the case, but the bore is tapered from both sides at one end toward the penny slot 21, as indicated at 26 in Fig. 3, so that the endmost penny is always properly centered in the slot 21 for easy removal, being guided toward such centered position by sliding engagement with one or the other of the inclined side surfaces 26.

In operation, nickels are deposited in the dispenser through slot 20 and pennies are deposited through slot 21. However, if the user wishes to do so, he can fill the dispenser substantially to capacity with nickels or pennies, inasmuch as the followers 18 and 19 are held apart by the same spring 17. The coins are under sufficient spring pressure at all times so that there is no rattle and the coins are never loose enough to fall out, although they may be easily slipped out one by one by outward finger pressure thereon.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of our invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

We claim:

1. In a coin dispenser, an elongated hollow casing of uniform outside dimensions from end to end and internally of uniform depth from end to end, said casing having a semi-circular front wall and being open on the back thereof and having parallel side walls and parallel end walls and two coin receiving slots provided in the front wall of said casing, one adjacent each end wall, one of said slots being of greater diameter than the other to receive a larger size coin, the bore of said casing being of the same width as the larger diameter slot the major portion of the length of said casing and one end portion of the bore being tapered abruptly to ward the smaller diameter slot, whereby said casing may be filled substantially to capacity with both sizes of coins or with either of the two sizes of coins, an elongated coiled compression spring insertable through the open back of said casing and working freely in said bore and normally reaching from end to end of the casing, said spring being of uniform diameter from end to end, coin follower disks seated on the opposite ends of said spring and insertable therewith through the open back of said casing to press whatever coins are disposed in front of them against the end walls, portions of the latter being cut away to provide'finger openings for access to the outermost coins in said casing, and a back plate closing the open back of said casing and carrying means for securing the coin dispenser in substantially parallel relation to a support.

2. A coin dispenser as set forth in claim 1 in which the casing has a recess provided therein annularly in the open back thereof defining an annular shoulder internally of said casing, said back plate fitting closely in said recess in abutment with said shoulder and secured in place by portions of said casing around the recess swedged over the'edges of said plate. forpermanently securing the plate in said casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

